Peritoneal metastasis in gastric cancer: results from the German database.

BACKGROUND: Patients with peritoneal metastases of gastric cancer have a poor prognosis with a median survival of 7 months. A benefit of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) could be shown in several selected patient cohorts but remains controversial. The aim of this study was, to reflect the results of a national German HIPEC registry initiated by the German Society of General and Visceral Surgery (DGAV). METHODS: The DGAV HIPEC registry StuDoQ|Peritoneum documents patients with peritoneal malignancy contributed from 52 hospitals. All consecutive documented patients from 2011 until 2016 (n = 3078) were treated with CRS and HIPEC and were analysed. A total of 315 (10%) suffered from gastric cancer and were analysed. RESULTS: A complete data set of 235 patients was available for this study, including 113 male (48.1%) and 122 female (51.9%) patients with a median age of 53.4 years (SD ± 11.9). The median PCI was 8.0 (range 1-30). A complete cytoreduction was achieved in 121 patients (71.6%). Postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grades 3-4) occurred in 40 patients (17%). The median overall survival (OS) time was 13 months. The 5-year survival rate was 6%. According to the PCI from 0-6 (n = 74); 7-15 (n = 70) and 16-39 (n = 24) the median OS differs significantly (18 months vs. 12 months vs. 5 months; p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: CRS and HIPEC in selected patients with gastric cancer and peritoneal spread can improve survival when they are treated in centers. An accurate staging and patient selection are of major importance to achieve long-term survival.

Are Colon and Rectal Cancer Two Different Tumor Entities? A Proposal to Abandon the Term Colorectal Cancer.

Colon cancer (CC) and rectal cancer (RC) are synonymously called colorectal cancer (CRC). Based on our experience in basic and clinical research as well as routine work in the field, the term CRC should be abandoned. We analyzed the available data from the literature and results from our multicenter Research Group Oncology of Gastrointestinal Tumors termed FOGT to confirm or reject this hypothesis. Anatomically, the risk of developing RC is four times higher than CC, while physical activity helps to prevent CC but not RC. Obvious differences exist in molecular carcinogenesis, pathology, surgical topography and procedures, and multimodal treatment. Therefore, we conclude that CC is not the same as RC. The term "CRC" should no longer be used as a single entity in basic and clinical research as well as other areas of classification.

[Short- and long-term results in operable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas from a cooperation between two departments gastroenterology-visceral surgery at non-university hospitals benchmarked to results of expert-centers]. / Kurz- und Langzeitergebnisse bei operablen duktalen Pankreasadenokarzinomen aus der Kooperation zwischen zwei Abteilungen Gastroenterologie-Viszeralchirurgie an nicht universitären Kliniken im Vergleich mit Resultaten aus Spitzenzentren.

The only curative approach in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is resection, which is possible only in 15 - 30 % of patients. Local tumor spread or distant metastases are contraindications for resection in the majority of patients. Surgical-oncological quality with short- and long-term results are varying tremendously, so that "expertise/quality" are associated to hospital- or surgeon's volume and/or center formation. The treatment results also depend, to a great extent, on the medical diagnostic quality. With our retrospective study, we aim to compare the results-quality of cooperative pancreatic cancer treatment based on an extensive preoperative diagnostic procedure for staging and risk estimation in a specialized GI-medical department and visceral surgical-oncological expertise in pancreatic cancer surgery at a general hospital with the results-quality of expert centers. Fifty-three patients with PDAC had diagnosis and resection of their cancer between 1/2002 and 12/2009. The 30 day hospital-mortality was 3.8 % and the median survival time after demission from the hospital was 23.1 months. The 5-year-survival rate of R0-resected patients, all of whom had received adjuvant chemotherapy, was high with 31 %. The survival data and the extraordinarily high resection rate of 98.1 % in the patient group, whose primary tumor stage was pT3 in 81 %, reflects the excellent cooperation of high standards in medical diagnostic processes, visceral pancreatic surgery, and adjuvant medical chemotherapy. The results are well comparable to those of "high volume centers". The responsible heads of the two departments have been trained at university expert centers. Expertise in the treatment of pancreatic cancer patients may be successfully transferred from an expert center to a general hospital, if the team has high expertise.